It has long been known that sun can cause a hazard to drivers of motor vehicles when they are operating motor vehicles. Although sunglasses can block some of the sun's rays, they do not provide a complete solution when the sun is directly in the driver's eyes, especially during sunrise or sunset. To help partially offset this problem, cars and trucks typically have windshield sun visors at the driver's and front passenger's seats. These visors are designed so that they can be folded upwardly toward the roof when not in use and brought down to a maximum vertical position (relative to the floor) when needed. Also, the visors are typically oriented so that they can be rotated away from the windshield toward a side door window to block sun from a side direction.
While windshield visors are a vast improvement over no visor, they typically leave gaps between the visor and the rearview mirror. It is this gap that is addressed by the present invention.
In addition to providing a useful article, the present invention is also concerned with an improved method of advertising. Free promotional items are a popular way of getting brand names and new ideas before consumers. In fact, there is a whole industry and trade shows directed to gifts that companies can brand and give away to customers or potential customers, and it is hard to imagine somebody today in the United States that has not received a free calendar or a free pen with somebody's advertising material placed on it. To be useful as an effective giveaway product, companies often look for something that is both inexpensive and yet something that consumers are likely to find useful and to keep around, thus increasing the longevity of the advertising. Other examples of such items include magnets, the ubiquitous branded coffee cups and clothing, such as baseball caps and t-shirts, although such clothing is more expensive and not as subject to mass distribution as items that can be conveniently and cheaply delivered through the mail.
In recent years magazines have been including more and more sophisticated advertisements, including special pull-out inserts that can be bonded onto a special strip inserted into the magazines. This method of delivery offers a convenient and relatively inexpensive method of getting specialized promotional materials to targeted audiences of magazines such as, e.g., perfume or deodorant. However, despite its potential, it cannot be used to deliver items such as pens or coffee cups, and the magazine size and dimensions limit the type of insert that can be added to a magazine. To be effective, the insert should be flat, sized so that it does not exceed the dimensions of the magazine, and not be so thick as to detract from the main purpose of the magazine, which is not simply to provide the insert, but to provide content that viewers are interested in viewing.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a giveaway type of promotional item that is unique, and therefore likely to be appreciated and kept by consumers, that can be delivered as an insert to a magazine.